Coin-collector for telephone pay-stations.



No. 728,309., y PATBNTED MAY 19, kA903. 0.13. SCRIBNER. G01N GOLLBGTQR vFOR TELEPHONE PAY STATIONS.

AP/PLIOATION FILED JULY 29, 1901.

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,Noa 728.309. PTENTED MAYiQ, 1903..v

G. E. SGRIBNER. l

GOIN COLLECTOR FOR TELEPHONE PAY STATIONS. APPLIoATIoN FILED 'JULY ze, 1901.

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u /NVE/vof?. CHAR; Es E. scR/SN'E-R- UNITED STATES. PATENT entente@ May-19,19%.

CHARLES E. SCRIBNER, OE CHICAGO., ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OFl CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS. l

Com-COLLECTOR FOR TELEPHLON EeAY-sTATloNs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of munersratec 310,728,309, dated may 19, 1 903.

Application filed -l'nly 29, 1901.

'T0 a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES E. SCRIBNER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofik Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and usef nl Improvement in Coin-Collectors for Telephone Pay-Stations, (Case No.` 496,) of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and eX- act description.

My invention relates to a coin collector,l and more particularly to a toll-box for telephone pay-stations. Its objects are to provide improved distributing mechanism for controlling the disposition of deposited coins and an. improved coin-chute and associated mechanism which will automatically return to the depositor all coins of less than a given size which may have been deposited in the toll-box by mistake or otherwise.

A further object is to provide a construction by which all coins deposited in the tollbox while a coin previouslydeposited is still' nndisposed of will automatically be returnedE to the depositor, whereby llingl up ot the chute and clogging of the distributing mechanism are avoided.

I will describe my invention by reference to the accompanying drawings,"j andthe features or combinations which I regard as new will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure l is a front elevation of the toll Fig. 2 is a similar view with the cover-` removed, showing the interior --mechanismf Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on line 3 3 of" box.

Fig. 2, showing the coin-chute and the mechanism therein for arresting a deposited coin Fig. 4 is a secdetail plan view of the armature when tilted to one side, showing how an electrical con- .tact' device.

Serial No. 70,075. (No model.)

` tact is made when the armature is thrown to Vone side or the other.

The toll-box of my invention is of the general type shown in the patent to A. M. Bullard, No. 665,874, dated January 15, 1901.

yIn this style of toll-box the deposit of a coinl OFFICE.

is necessary to transmit a signal to the cen-v tral oftice and the coin is arrested in its pas.- sage within the box, electromagnetic mechanism being provided, under the control of the central-office operator, for throwing the coin into the cashbox, or, it' the desired connection cannot be obtained, for throwing the coin into a return-chute leadingA to the outside of the toll-box. A polarized` electromagnet is provided, the armature ot which is normally maintained in a central position, but is adapted to tilt to one side orthe other,

-according to the direction in which electric current iiows through the magnet-coils. This tilting .armature is connected with simple mechanism wherebyr itsmovementin one ditr'ection will throw the coin into the cash-box, :whilea movement in the opposite direction .directs thecoin into the return-chute. electrical, circuits for this toll-box are illus- -ftrated in'V the said Bullard patent, together with ,the means whereby the central-office ;operato1"m'ay impress upon the toll-line current of the'proper direction to throw the coin- ,controllingiarmature to either side, as may be desired.-

The

The improvements of this invention relate particularly to the'coin-chute, the coin-con.-

trolling mechanism, and the electrical coning the coindistributingmechanism. The

plate d is secured to the back of the iron tollbox by screws d d. The outer wall of 'the coin-chute is formed by the thin metal plate d2, which is secured to the face of the plate d, the recessed portions in the face of the plate d forming the coin-channel. ltwill bev observed that this coin-channel, starting at the top and front of the box, as shown in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 3, leads diagonally downward in a gentle slope nearly to the back of the box, then turns sharply back and passes diagonally downward toward the front of the box, where it turns in a gradual curve and continues as a return-chute a2, which leads lirst to the rear of the box and then turns sharply again toward the front, terminating in the return-cup?) atthe bottom.

The central portion of the chute is expanded to form a supplementary channel or bypath a', opening off the main chute just after it has made its first sharp turn and is leading in a nearly-horizontal direction toward the front. The mouth of this supplementary channel thus forms a gap in the lower wall of the chute, into which coins will ordinarily be shunted, and distributing mechanism, hereinafter to be described, is provided for stopping coins in this channel and controlling their subsequent disposition.

` Two stops or pins e e2 normally project into the su pplementary channel in position to arrest a falling coin and support the same between them. Means are provided whereby these pins may be independently withdrawn to release the coin, which, directed by the pin which remains, falls to one side or the other, according to which of the pins has been withdrawn.

Two exit channels or paths for the coin diverge from the supplementary channel at a point just below the stops e e2, said stops serving to block the mouths of said exits. One path leads to the return-chute a2 and the other path, directly behind the other, (at the right, as seen in Fig. 3,) leads sidewise out of the chute and into the caslrbox. This latter path is made by a hole a3, cut in the side wall of the coin-chute, and a deliector-plate a4, passing diagonally through the hole to throw the coin sidewise out of the chute.

A projection (Z3 is left between the hole t3 and the return-passage 0.2, forming a wall dividing the two exit-channels and adapted to assist in directing a falling coin into either of them.

The stops e e2 are separated so that coins of less than a given size will not be stopped, but will fall through between the stops, and the projection d3 is positioned so that it will be struck by such undersized coins which fall through between the stops and will serve to direct such coins into the return-chute a2. Ordinarily when a coin is deposited it passes down the chute as far as the opening formed by the enlarged portion or supplementary channel a and then `is shunted into this channel, beinf,r arrested, however, at the entrance by the pins e e2. Until the coin is disposed of other coins subsequently deposited` will pass over the coin so held, which bridges the gap in the lower wall of the chute, so that such other coins will pass on down through the return-chute and out into the return-cup. Blocking of the chute or of the distributing mechanism is thus avoided.

Above and on either side of the projection cl3 two holes are cut in the plate d, through which the two stops or pins c e2 project into the expanded portion or supplementary channel a of the coin-chute. These two stops e e2 are mounted upon a centrally-pivoted rocking lever e, which forms the armature of a polarized electroniagnet f and is adapted to be tilted to one side or the other, according to the direction of current flowing in the coils of the magnet. When thus tilted, one of the stops e e2 will be withdrawn from the chute and the other thrust farther in. In Fig. 3 a coin is shown resting upon these two stops. It will be seen that if the stop c' is withdrawn the coin will fall forward into the passage CL2 and thence into the return-cup. If, on' the other hand, the stop e2 be withdrawn, the coin will fall rearwardly upon the defiectorplate a4, and so will be thrown sidewise out of the chute through the holo a3 and into the cash-box c.

A pin a5 is provided near the center of the expanded portion a of the coin-chute in position to arrest a coin -as it falls into the mouth of the expanded chamber a and to direct the coin rearwardly, so that it will fall between the two projecting pins or stops e' e2. If a coin is already in place between these stops, however, a coin subsequently falling through the chute will strike this coin and bounce over the pin a5, passing to the front of the expanded chamber ct' and thence down and out through the chute a2.

The distance between the pins or lugs e' e2 is just sufficient to prevent the passage between them of a coin of the size which is designed to be used in the toll-box-as, for exan1ple,afivecentpiece-butwillallowsmaller coins, such as dimes or pennies, to pass between them. e

The armature or rocking lever e is shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 6, and consists simply of an iron plate pivoted at the top and bottom upon the screws g g. A ilat spring h is mounted upon the upper portion of the plate or framework d and projects down, so that its broad lower edge rests upon a strap 7c, which is mounted on the face of the pivoted armature-plate e. The central portion of the spring h is preferably cut away, as shown in Fig. et, and the lower edge thereof is of sufficient width so that it may bear upon the armature on either side of its pivotal axis. lt thus tends to keep the armature in the central position, from which it may be tilted to one side or the other by the polarized magnet. The projecting ends of the pole-pieces of the magnet are preferably tapered or bulletshaped, as shown, and the armature has holes cut therein registering with the pole-pieces, the armature being thus adapted to slip over the pole-pieces when it is attracted, whereby a considerable range of movement is made possible. The magnet is preferably mount- IOO IIO

ed as shown in Figp, with the pole-pieces threaded at their ends andscrewed into lugs.

d5 d5, formed on the plate d, which project through the holes in the armature.

The lug .or pin c' .is stationarily mounted upon the armature e; but the pin e2 is pivot-` Vthe electrical contact controlled thereby is normally broken. When a coin restsbetween the pins e e2, however, the pin e2 is wedged over, so that its platinum contactpoint strikes the contact-anvil on the stud esi and completes the electricalv connection. When the pin c2 is struck by coins which are small enough to fall through the channel without beingstopped, the spring-mounting of the pin assists in causing such coins to be thrown forward into the return-chute a? rather than rearwardlyV into the passage a3, which is an incidental advantage.

A metallic strap 7c is mounted upon but insulated from the face of the armature e and extends from the top of the armature to the stud e3 at the bottom. The (iat centralizingspring h does not rest directly upon the armature, but restsinstead upon the upper portion of this strap, which isinsulated from the armature. terminal of the electrical circuit, and the frameworkor metallic casing of the toll-box mayform the other terminal. ,g Usuallylthe framework would be connected toground and the spring 7i would be connected through the coils of the magnet fto one side of the telephone-line. When a coin is deposited in the box, the stop e2, which is connected through the contact-points g lg with the grounded framework ot' the machine, is brought into contact with the stud e3, which is connected with the spring It, and sowith the line, andA thecircuit is thus closed from theline to ground. j

As lshown most clearly in Figf?, contact- 4points c5 e5 may be mounted upon the arma- 'ture ein position to engagethe spring h when the armature is tilted to one side or the other to complete the circuit independent of the coin. Normally, however, when the armature is in its central position these contactpoints are separatedl from the spring h, since they do not project as far from the surface of the armature as do the projections i' t" at the upper portion4 of the strap againstwhich the spring h-normally rests. The object of making this contact between the spring It and armature ein shunt of the' contact controlled by the movable stud e2 when the armature The pin e2 carries aright-angledv The spring h may thus form one is tilted isjto preventthe I'iutteringbf the-f armature Whenthe coin is released.

Having thus described my invention I Patent, the following:

l. In a coin-collector, the combination with a main coin-chute and Atwo eXit-channelsleading therefrom, of twostops Aprojecting into said coin-chute, blocking the entrance to the said two exit-channels, respectively, and mechanism for independently withdrawing said sto'ps, whereby the 4disposition of a deposited coin 'may be controlled. j

In a coin-collector, the combination with a coin-chute, of two pins e e2 projecting into the coin-chute and adapted to support a coin 7o claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters between them,- twopaths for the coin, onef below each of the said. pins, and means for4 alternatively withdrawing either of the pins to direct a coin into either of the paths,

3. Iny a toll-box, the combination withual 'main coin-chute, a cash-box and a returnchute, of twoeXit-channels diverging` from the-main chute and leading one into the cashbox and the other to the return-chute,ftwo

stops projecting into thecoin-chute oneabove` each of the exit-channels, adapted to arrest a coin, an electrical contact adapted to be closed bythe coin as it is held by said stops,

and mechanism for alternatively-withdraw-` ing either of said stops to'release the coin and direct the same either into thecash-boxor into the return-chute, accordingto the lug which is withdrawn.

4. In a coin-collector, the combinationwith,

a main coin-chute and two exit-channels leading therefrom, one leading toa clash-boxrand the other to a return-cup, of two stops e' e? projecting into the coin-chute, one at `the Amouth of each of said exit-channels, mechan-v ICO ismA for alternatively withdrawing either-of-4 said stops from the chute, toreleasethe coin .and direct the same into thek corresponding exit-channel, spring-actuated mechanism normally maintaining both of said stops within the chute toarrest a falling coin, Van` electromagnet operatively associated with the mechanism for withdrawing the stops, and means for energizing said magnet. j,

5. In a coin-collector, the combination with a coin-chute having two exit-channels for ther coin, one leading to a cash-box and the other,

to a return-cup, of a rocking lever eV having two pins or stops e e2 projectinginto thecoinchtite, one above the mouth .oteach of said,

exit-channels, said stops being adapted to arrest a falling coin andsupport the same between them, a pivotal mounting for thej rocking lever, whereby the same. is adapted,`

to swingto one side or the other to withdraw,.-

either ofV the stops from the .coin-chute and so torelease the coin and direct the same into either of the eXit-channels,-a.spring normallyi lmaintainingthe rocking Vleveriny a central position, anda polarized electromagnet operatively associated .with-,said rocking lever,Y

adapted to move the same, whereby thedisposition of a deposited coin may be electrically controlled.

G. In a coin-collector, the combination with the coin-chute a, of a distributing mechanism having two stops e e2 projecting into the coin-chute adapted to arrest falling coins of suitable size, mechanism adapted to be actuated by a coin so held, the distance between said stops being sufficient to permit undersized coins to pass through between them, two exit-channels leading from the main chute, one of said exit-channels being positioned to receive all undersized coins which pass through between the stops, the passage of full-sized coins into said exit-channels being normallyblockedby one ot said stops, and mechanism for withdrawing either of the stops, to release the coin which may be held thereby and direct the same into either of the exit-channels.

7. In a coin-collector, the combination with the coin-chute d, of distributing mechanism having stops e e2 projecting` into the coinchute in position to arrest a falling coin of suitable size, said stops being suliiciently separated to allow coins of less than a given size to pass through between them, two exitchannels leading from said chute, the entrance to said exit-channels being normally blocked against the passage of coins by said projecting stops, means for independently withdrawing said stops to direct the coin into either of said exits, and a projection d3 in the coin-chute below said stop, in position to be struck by nndersized coins falling between the stops and to direct such undersized coins into a particular one of said exit-channels.

S. In a coin-collector, the combination with a coin-chute a, of a coin-distributing mechanism having two stops e' e2 normally projecting into the coin-chute in position to arrest a suitably-sized coin and support the same, the stops being suiiciently separated to permit under-sized coins to fall through between them, mechanism adapted for actuation by a coin held by the stops, two exitchannels leading one into a cash-box and the other to a return-cup, said channels diverging from the main chute at a point immediately underneath the stops, a projection d3 dividing the mouth oi' the return-channel from the mouth of the other exit-channel, said projection being located in position to be struck by undersized coins falling through between said stops and to direct such undersized coins into the return-channel, and means for withdrawing said stops from the chute independently, to release a coin held thereby and direct the same either into the returncup or into the cash-box, as described.

9. In a toll-box, the combination with a main coin-chute, a cash-box and a returnchute, of distributing mechanism adapted to rasees arrest and hold a deposited coin and control the snbsequent'disposition thereof, a path being provided around the distributing mechanism controlled by the coin so held, forshunting directly into the return-chute coins subsequently deposited.

li). ln a toll-box, the combination with a coin-chute leading through the box to a return-cup,of a by-path or supplementary channel leading from the main chute, into which coins passing down the chute will ordinarily fall, distributing mechanism for stopping a coin in the supplementary channel, and for controlling the subsequent disposition of the coin so stopped, the coin being held in position to block the entrance to the supplementary channel, whereby coins deposited while the first coin is still held undisposed of will pass through and be returned to the depositor.

1l. In a toll-box, the combination with a coin-chute leading through the box to areturn-cup,ofaby-pathorsupplementarychannel having its mouth opening ol'f the main chute and forming a gap in the wall thereof, into which passing coins will ordinarily fall, a stop adapted to arrest a coin at the mouth of the by-path, whereby the gap in the bottom wall of the chute is bridged by the coin so held and coins subsequently deposited will pass over the rst coin and so through the chute to the return-cup, mechanism adapted to be actuated by the coin as it is held by said stop, and means for withdrawing the stop to release the coin.

l2. ln a toll-box, the combination with a coin-chute leading through the box to a returncup,ofabypath orsupplementary channel having its mouth opening off the main chute and forming a gap in the wall thereof into which deposited coins will ordinarily be shunted, two stops projecting into said supplement-ary channel adapted to arrest a falling coin at the mouth thereof, whereby the gap in the main chtite will be bridged by the coin so held, and coins subsequently deposited will pass by the supplementary channel and on through the chute tothe return-cup, mechanism adapted to be actuated by the coin so held, two exit-channels diverging from a point underneath said stops, one of said exit-channels being adapted to direct a coin into the return-cup and the other exit-channel lead- IOO IIO

ing to the cash-box, and means for independently withdrawing said stops to release the coin held thereby and to direct said coin into either of the exit-channels.

In witness whereoi` I hereunto subscribe my name this 3d day of June, A. D. 1901.

CHARLES E. SCRIBNER.

Witnesses:

ELLA EDLER, E. H. SMYTHE. 

